10 Comments -

Tim Brookes

July 4, 2013

The main difference between the two boils down to form factor and overall power. The MacBook Air is designed for portability, to be small and light and have a great battery, while still being able to keep a ton of tabs open and run Photoshop. The MBA is a lot lighter (not that the MacBook Pro is heavy, the MBA makes everything feel heavy by comparison).

On the other hand if it’s raw power you need – i.e. you will be encoding HD video, editing video, depending on virtual machines or even want to play a few 3D games (Sim City, for example) then a MacBook Pro will suit you better as it will eat through these tasks. The dedicated graphics chip, extra RAM and beefier CPU makes all the difference in the MBP, speaking from experience.

I have last year’s mid-2012 MBP with Retina display, my girlfriend has the 2011 MacBook Air. Hers is noticeably thinner and lighter, mine has a noticeably nicer monitor and the extra 3D performance.

You didn’t mention whether it’s the Retina model or not that you’re after. The other thing that separates the two models is price, with the Retina model costing that much more. I firmly believe the MacBook Air represents good value for money, especially compared to the rest of the ultra-portable laptops from the Windows OEMs. The Retina MacBook Pro is less so though, despite being a nicer machine than most things sitting on the shelf at Best Buy, you will have to fork out for it. If this is worth it to you (it was to me!) then your decision should be easy.

Want power, a video encoder with a jaw-dropping screen, dedicated graphics and price tag to match? Get a MacBook Pro.

Don’t value portability at all? An iMac will provide much more computer for your money!

cierra

August 25, 2013

I think that the mac book air is better because it is more portable less heavy and it holds the battery for longer so in my opinion the mac book air is a better computer than the macbook pro.the mac book air was just recently updated and the mac book pro was updated last year so i think that the macbook air is way better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 :)

Jan F

July 5, 2013

The only thing I want to add to Tims excellent comment is the connectivity and ports.

The MacBook Air only has two USB3.0 Ports, one Thunderbolt port and a headphone jack. This means by default it’s wireless only and has no optical drive.
If you need/want an Ethernet connection you’ll have to decide between a Thunderbolt Gbit adapter, a USB Fast Ethernet (100Mbit) adapter or use a third-party adapter.

The MacBook Pro (Retina) has two USB3.0 Ports, two Thunderbolt ports, headphone jack, HDMI and an SDXC card reader. Again, no optical drive, no Ethernet port.

The MacBook Pro with the standard display has two USB3.0 Ports, one Thunderbolt, FireWire 800, Gbit Ethernet, SDXC card reader and an optical drive.

Both MBP also offer WiFi of course.

Austin H

July 5, 2013

Personally, I still prefer the non-Retina MacBook Pro model despite their lesser display and added weight. I find Retina MBP’s to be overly pricey and completely disdain the complete in ability to upgrade anything in it. Also, despite the speed and performance of SSDs, the very very limited space makes buying a large external HDD entirely necessary if you have lots of photographs, videos, movies, music, etc. Additionally, I can buy the base model and then upgrade as I see fit or need it, and often for far cheaper than paying Apple for it up front.

However, the Retina MBP and the MBA both have their merits, if you value having an upgradable computer or lots of storage and saving a few hundred dollars, I’d say that neither is really the way to go at the moment.

Matt.Smith

In my opinion you should go for the 13″ Pro w/Retina if you can afford it. Besides offering an excellent display and better performance, it’s also not THAT much heavier or thicker than a 13″ Air.

The non-Retina Pro is a different story because it uses a thicker chassis, so it’s a bit bulky by today’s standards.

However, one thing to keep in mind, the Air has been updated to the new 4th-gen Intel processors and the Pro has not. If you do want a Pro, with Retina or without, you should wait until it gets an update.

Christine S

July 6, 2013

When Apple brought out the MacBook Pro 15 inch Retina Display I was in awe. It was not the enhanced visual aesthetics on the screen that won me over. In fact, I barely noticed the improved display. What really blew me away was the lightness of the machine. So light I thought it must be an Air (but without the cheap plastic feel).

By leaving out the DVD drive they have created the lightest 15inch MacBook Pro ever. It is beyond me why Apple don’t use THIS as the main selling point:

“The New MacBook Pro – You can lug it around all day shoulder injury free!”

Hovsep A

if you do picture video jobs then Retina MacBook Pro is better because of the screen.

Sash P

July 8, 2013

MacBook Pro’s have much better tech specs (CPU, RAM and Graphics) than the MacBook Air. MacBookPro’s also have a better range of connectors and ports. On the other hand MacBook Air’s are super light and thin and look better. They are fine for a home user that does not do any intense computer tasks. If you can affoard it, I recommend you go for a Pro.

Kamal

August 8, 2013

Hi,

Its a genuine confusion since both offer something, no one can refuse easily. Few weeks back i wrote in details about the same confusion on my blog.